Blogs - RonnieScholtes

Four tracks of the Alchemilla Mod Original Soundtrack have been released online. This sample has been made available for download in celebration of the recently released demo.

The sample contains four different tracks with four different moods. ''Genesis'' and ''Appeasement (Reprise)'' both feature in the demo. The main theme is also available, along with previously unheard Otherworld theme: ''Creations of the Mind'', which features heavily distorted sounds to depict the horrors of Silent Hill in a very disturbing way.

Ronnie Scholtes:
''As a composer enrolled in a music educational program, I wanted to gain more experience composing soundtracks for interesting projects. Being a huge Silent Hill fan myself, I was immediately drawn to Alchemilla Mod when I first stumbled upon it well over a year ago. I decided to contact Allien about the music and started composing soon thereafter.

I was already very familiar with Akira Yamaoka's work before I started working for White Noise. Since the goal of this project is to recapture the original Silent Hill atmosphere, I didn't want to influence the musical score too much with my own ideas. I feel like Daniel Licht (composer SH: Downpour) let his own style overshadow the Silent Hill atmosphere too much. I set out, not to imitate Yamaoka, but rather pay homage to the man. I combined elements of his works that spoke to me.''

The entire OST will feature 14 original pieces of music and will release along with the Alchemilla Mod's release.

Hi guys!

I found an English playthrough of the demo online!
I love how they captured the original SH atmosphere. I'll definitely be playing this when it comes out, somehow :P I still can't get the demo to work on my Macbook, but my inability is probably more to blame than the demo itself. :P That's why I'm a console gamer I guess... :P

Anyway, enjoy :)

Hi guys!

I haven't been able to play the demo for myself, because I can't get it to work on my Mac. I never play games on it, and today I once again found out why.

I did, however, come across a Youtube playthrough of the demo. Unfortunately, it was in Russian, but it was great to hear my music in the game nevertheless. From what I could tell, my music really fit the atmosphere, for which I'm really proud!

I do still plan on playing the demo myself, since I didn't understand the Russian text/story. Thankfully, I had nothing really spoiled.

The title screen features a piece of mine called ''Genesis''. You can hear it here:

Once the full game is released (no date is set yet), the entire OST (my compositions) will be made available for download. I'll update you guys by that time, of course. :)
Please let me know what you think of the demo and the music. I'm anxious to see your reactions.

Much love,

Ronnie Scholtes

Hi guys!

The Alchemilla Mod demo is out! It's a Silent Hill fangame, running on Source engine.

I personally haven't played it yet, I'm downloading as we speak, so I'll be sure to update you guys on my experience. :)
I've composed the soundtrack for it, so I'm excited to see (and hear) how the team's work has come together. This will be a first for me.

Anyway, make sure to check it out and leave your feedback at Alchemilla.

Much love,

Ronnie Scholtes

Hi guys,

I decided to write part 2 of my list of best game OST's. This is not a top 10 or whatever, more a list of soundtracks that have touched and inspired me as a composer.

I noticed I had only listed current gen games the last time, so it's time to retro things up a bit.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Harry Gregson Williams is originally a filmscore composer. He was asked because of this. Kojima wanted the game to sound like a movie. Nowadays this is a common thing, but back then, this was groundbreaking stuff. An actual Hollywood composer scoring a game. I love what he did to the main theme, but the entire soundtrack is great.

Final Fantasy X
I love FF soundtracks. Nobuo's work is magical. He writes very recognizable melodies. VII, VIII are great as well, but X holds the most special place in my heart as a game. I also love the piano collections albums. They're in part why I started playing the piano. I'm proud to admit that I mastered 3 of these brilliant reworks of popular FF themes. I really like how subtly the Suteki Da Ne theme has been used over and over in the soundtrack. A friend of mine never noticed this before, probably because there's so much difference in the ways that it has been reused. The theme never gets old.
I like the entire FFX OST, but one of my favorites has to be this one:

Alone in the Dark
This has to be one of my all time favorites. The game has been received poorly, which I thought was pretty harsh. Yeah, the game's mechanics don't always work the way you want them to, it gets bugged to the point of frustration, but it had some cool ideas. But what really made this game stand out for me, and made me finish this, is the OST. Epic. Just epic. A Bulgarian choir was used for the choirs, but other than that, I read that this was all electronic. So all of the symphonic sounds were sampled. When I first read that that was possible, it inspired me to start composing that kind of soundtrack too. I always loved the epic sound of an orchestra, but it never occurred to me that MIDI information and a few sample libraries could produce the same kind of sound.

Hi guys,

So I thought I'd list a few of my biggest inspirations in terms of soundtracks. I'm 23 years old now and have been gaming throughout my entire life, so I've played quite a few games. What I can conclude is that the Soundtrack of a game can make a game more than what it is. If it's really good, it can even make a technically flawed game playable and memorable.

I don't wanna do a top 10 or whatever. I don't think lists like these do the products justice, neither can I rank them. I just know what I like. :D

Bioshock: Infinite
So the most recent is Bioshock: Infinite. I like how Schyman had used conventional instruments in a very unconventional way. Some of the rhythms are particularly strange and add to the sense of estrangement that's part of the game's world. I also like the drums a lot. ''Songbird'' is a personal favorite of mine.

DMC: Devil May Cry
Next up is DMC: Devil May Cry. I love Noisia's work on this one, but I especially like the developers choice to have him compose the entire soundtrack. It's really smart. He manages to not only put together the dubstep/ drumnbass kind of music that he's known for, but he masterfully incorporates filmic elements to actually make it sound like a soundtrack. Not only that, but it fits DMC. Finally they leave behind the repetitive rock guitars and go along with the times. Mark my words, more games will follow in DMC's footsteps on this one.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
This OST is quite standard, with some high moments. The ambient pieces don't really stand out, but I just had to mention this soundtrack, if only just for one piece: Tom Salta - Bolivia Streets. This is pure art. Extremely well composed. It's complex, it build perfectly, it uses Spanish rhythms and harmonies. I just love it. LOVE it. :)

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Just magical. The amount of music that has been composed for this game is epic in itself. There's so much in this game, all tailored to fit the players experience. And I know that a lot of developers use these terms, but they actually pulled it off. The music shifts seamlessly from one piece to another. The overall style is magical. I could just listen to most of it, without even playing the game. The amount of effort that has been put into this pays off.

So I've got 4 so far. I'll continue this at another time. Maybe make a weekly thing out of it.

Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Much love,

Ronnie Scholtes

So I've been asked to compose the soundtrack for Mafia Times: Traces of Red. It will be a FPS game. There's a dedicated team working hard to create something special. For more info on the game, visit the official website.

I composed the first piece of music for the opening level. As the title implies, it will take place in a train station. It will be a heavy shootout. I've been asked to compose something orchestral. It had to be adrenaline filled and contain a ''big'' sound. You can listen to the final result below.

Please let me know what you think in the comments :)

Much love,

Ronnie Scholtes

Hi guys!

So I've created a Bandcamp account. The complete EP 'O.U.T.' can be downloaded there, including Friday's Club Remix. So for all of you interested, please head there. All of your support is really appreciated! :)

Work for Mafia Titanic is also almost done. I'm currently composing the theme for the final battle. For me, it's almost as if it's the grand finale for me as well. I've worked on this mod's soundtrack for almost a year now. I'm using previous themes and combining them to create the ultimate epic battle theme. It's great to do. I'll miss the project, but there's also a new title on the horizon. A new game called: Mafia Times. But more on that later. ;)

In the meantime, please enjoy my music on Bandcamp. :)

Much love,

Ronnie Scholtes

Mafia Titanic Mod - Soundtrack Preview - Mod DB

Hi guys!

Omg, I'm soooo busy!!!

I've finished a new track for Samurai Legends' OST. It'll be the theme you hear when you explore. I got to use a lot of new samples for this one. Especially Spirit Flute has been great to me, but the Water Percussion samples have helped me create a kind of unconventional drumloop. Hear it for yourself.

My Soundcloud has become more and more visited the last few weeks, with even a few collaboration requests. I'm really too busy to be doing any of that stuff, but I'll take what I can take on.

Jeron and I also just released a brand new remix of Friday. It's a dance track, a little out of our comfort zone, but a lot of fun nonetheless. I hope you like it.

Greetz,

Ronnie Scholtes

Hi guys!

O.U.T. has received a lot of praise. We're happy with the way things are going right now, and we're far from done making music. Two new tracks are on their way, including a dance remix of Friday.

On another note, I'm still working on my mods and game OST's. I've even been asked to do a loading screen theme for a small game. It will be a Mafia FPS game. More info will come as soon as I have something solid.

Meanwhile, please check out Jeron - Who We Are.